BBC Radio 5 Live join London CityAid

On a cold November evening a reporter from BBC Radio 5 Live joined the MRCT London CityAid team of volunteers in Victoria, London to experience the difficulties of being homeless. To gain feedback from homeless people on the recent proposals from Westminster Council to ban all soup runs into London.

During the evening Steve Hulcoop (MRCT London CityAid Driver) was also interviewed and shared his concerns for the proposals, alongside homeless people who have daily experiences of sleeping rough in London.  Nearly everyone interviewed was in support of maintaining the soup runs which were seen as a valuable resource in London.  This is the views of one homeless person:

(Gary is one of an estimated 500 people who sleep rough every night in England)

"It's really horrendous.  Believe me, it's freezing," he says. 

"You go to bed freezing and you wake up shaking in the morning. And that's even with a sleeping bag.  And you see people without sleeping bags, and they're just shaking all night. They don't sleep."

Charities estimate that in London over the course of a year, 3,000 people will spend the night on the streets.  For them Gary believes the soup runs is a life saver.  "It's vital because most people would die if they didn't have soup runs."  

On Sunday 23^rd December at 19.30 the programme went out on air with discussions from people and organisations giving both sides of the argument.  It was pleasing to review the feedback on the BBC News website afterwards where hundreds of emails were received regarding the programme and most were in favour of keeping the soup runs for homeless people in London.

Fortunately London Councils have now dropped these controversial plans, to legislate against soup runs into London but there will be much more debate about the subject in the months ahead so watch this space….